# š¤ What is the Countersign bot?
The [Countersign Bot](https://t.me/CountersignBot) is a bot developed by Yumi which does most of the hard work behind the scenes. Group admins can use the bot to protect against automated attacks (via a CAPTCHA verification process for new joiners) as well as ensuring that any scammers we are tracking who are in your group - or who try to join - are kicked and banned.
For instructions on how to add the bot to your Telegram chat, see here: [[ā How to add the CS bot to your chat]]. Commands to control the bot are detailed further down in this article.
## šØļø _"I just want access to the list of scammers for my own bot"_
If you have an existing Telegram bot that can accept CSV or JSON to import as banlists, [[š Telegram groups#š Additional sources for the list of scammers|see here to find out how to access our list of scammers using those methods]].
## āØ New joiners
When the Countersign Bot is protecting your chat, this is what happens when a new user attempts to join, presuming you are using "request to join" links as suggested in here: [[š ļø Chat group setup]]
```mermaid
---
config:
theme: redux-dark
look: classic
---
flowchart TD
%%Nodes
1.1["`User requests to join the chat`"]
1.2["`User get DMed by the Countersign bot`"]
1.6["`User is kicked and banned`"]:::orange
3.1["`The Countersign bot sends a verification link to the new joiner`"]:::blue
5.1["`User is added to the chat`"]:::green
%%Joins
1.1---1.2
1.1--"User is a known scammer"---1.6
1.2---3.1
3.1--"User successfully completes CAPTCHA"---5.1
3.1--"User fails the CAPTCHA"---1.6
3.1--"User doesn't attempt CAPTCHA within the timeout window, and the verification link times out"---1.1
%% Styling
classDef green fill:#B2DFDB,stroke:#00897B,stroke-width:2px;
classDef orange fill:#FFE0B2,stroke:#FB8C00,stroke-width:2px;
classDef blue fill:#BBDEFB,stroke:#1976D2,stroke-width:2px;
classDef yellow fill:#FFF9C4,stroke:#FBC02D,stroke-width:2px;
classDef pink fill:#F8BBD0,stroke:#C2185B,stroke-width:2px;
classDef purple fill:#E1BEE7,stroke:#8E24AA,stroke-width:2px;
```
## āļø How to control the Countersign bot
There are a few `/` commands that admins can use once the Countersign Bot has been added to a chat and given the appropriate permissions
> [!tip]
> All the commands are visible in the command menu that opens when you start a message with a `/`
`/cssettimeout 5` - Sets the timeout in minutes for the automated verification link that the bot sends to new joiners. If a new joiner doesn't complete the verification process in this time, they'll need to redo the join process. They should retract their request to join the group, and re-request - this will then trigger the Countersign bot to send a new verification link. _Default:_ `7`.
`/cssetkickban kick` or `/cssetkickban ban` - Sets whether the Countersign Bot will ban (then kick) or just kick any scammers that it detects in your group or trying to join. The only practical difference is whether they get added to the group's banlist (`ban`) or not (`kick`). _Default:_ `ban`.
`/cspurge` - Will run a check on the group and kick any accounts on the FAST scammer list. This is run automatically when the Countersign Bot is given ban permissions for the group, so running it manually should not be needed.